Not a Little Girl Anymore
by Eclipse-Vamp
Summary: Carlisle's thoughts while he watches his daughter, Alice, get married. All Human.


**A/N: So, I wrote this the night I watched _Father of the Bride_ (I believe that's what it's called) and I always cry whenever I watch that movie, getting to be the center of the jokes from my family for a while. Anyhow, I cried when I wrote this, too. I'm a baby.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing in here is mine.  
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Summary: Carlisle's thoughts while he watches his daughter, Alice, get married. All Human.**

**Title: Not a Little Girl Anymore**

I couldn't believe it. Today was the day that I had to give away my daughter. Not only my daughter, but my only child left in this house. Emmett was already married and expecting a little son of his own soon. I don't know why, but letting him grow up and get married was much easier than having our little girl do so. I had been regretting this day ever since Alice's boy, Jasper, asked us if he could take Alice's hand in marriage. Of course I had to say yes—he was the right guy for Alice. He was very kind and treated her with upmost respect. I groaned and stepped out of bed, stretching while Esme talked to me.

"Can you believe it, honey?" she asked. "Our little Alice is all grown up and getting married." How could she call her all grown up? Alice was only twenty-five! She was still a little girl who was about to go into the big scary world without her father's protection.

"Yeah," I said. Esme got up and kissed me on the cheek before grabbing my suit and her dress out of the closet. "It's going to be weird in the house, huh? Without Alice running around with her fashion designs or greeting us when we get home from work."

"Yes, but she promised she'd visit," Esme said, slipping out of her nightgown and into her other dress gracefully. I started working on my suit.

"But what about when they have kids?" I asked, still not even believing that my little girl was getting married. I tugged on my suit pants and tucked in my shirt before grabbing the jacket and putting it on. Esme helped me with my bowtie.

"Oh, they'll have to visit good old grandma and grandpa all the time!" she said giving my shoulder a pat before running to the closet again and returning with our shoes. I slipped them on and helped Esme buckle her straps on her heels. "We're just perfect for each other, aren't we? We know just when to help each other out. That's what Alice and Jasper will be like." Jasper. That name sounded strange coming from Esme. Jasper, the one who was going to be my daughter's husband…my son-in-law.

"Yeah, I guess," I admitted, nodding.

"Oh, you," she said, clucking her tongue. "Well, Alice must be freaking out. I should probably help her with her hair. Answer the door. The relatives will be here to get ready." As if answering Esme, the doorbell rang and I ran downstairs to get it. I opened the door and saw Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. They smiled when I welcomed them in.

"Where's my little sissy, Dad?" Emmett asked, looking around our house for his little sister.

"She's upstairs with Esme getting ready," I said. "Don't go up there—she's as stressed as can be and you'd only make it worse."

"Hi, Carlisle," Rosalie smiled warmly at me and gave me an awkward hug because of her huge stomach.

"Hello, Rosalie," I said. "Alice will probably want you up there for...girly things and to help you get dressed."

"Okay," she said, laughing and made her way up the stairs, a supportive hand on her belly. Emmett moved as if to accompany her, but just watched her with a protective look on his face. How was it so easy to let him go? Was it because of all the trouble he put us through? No…it was only because no matter how much he acted immaturely, he'd always be the oldest. The grown up.

"Nervous much, Jazz?" Emmett laughed, clapping Jasper's stiff shoulders. They were already in their tuxes so we didn't have much to do but stand around and wait for the girls so we could head to the church. Jasper smiled sheepishly.

"I threw up before my wedding," I admitted, trying to make the boy who would take my daughter away from me feel better even if it was paining me to do so.

"And before mine," Emmett laughed.

"Well, that was because you apparently poisoned some of my breakfast," I said and Emmett laughed harder, making Jasper laugh a little. We stood around talking about throwing up for the next thirty minutes before the girls were ready.

"Jasper Whitlock," Alice's voice rang down the staircase, "if you're there, you better run! I'm coming down!"

"That's my cue," Jasper said and bolted out the door. Emmett stood there right next to me while we watched the girls walk down. Esme helped Rosalie and Alice marched down on her own. Her wedding dress wasn't puffy, but it was very elegant. The tiny sleeves hung on the edges of her shoulders and her torso had an elaborate design on it. The rest of the dress was silky and long, making her look more grown up than ever, though she still looked like my two year old daughter tumbling down in her fairy princess dress for Halloween. My attention didn't stay long on my daughter, but more for my beautiful wife. She looked absolutely stunning in her white and light, _light_ pink dress and she smiled her heart-melting smile to me. Oh, how I loved that woman!

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, Emmett put his arms around Rose and escorted her to the car they were carpooling in with Jasper. Esme wrapped her hands around my torso and gave me a squeeze. I smiled at her before turning my attention to Alice. She was smiling as bright as ever as she looked me in the eyes. Those beautiful grey-blue eyes looked just as innocent and childlike as when I held her in my arms in the hospital when she was just born. My eyes stung with some tears waiting to escape, but I blinked them away.

"You look beautiful," I choked out and Alice smiled.

"Thank you, Daddy," she beamed and gave me a big hug. She still felt so small to me. We pulled away. "Ready to go?"

"Yep," I said and we all walked out of the house. I started my Mercedes and we sped off towards the church where everyone was at. The commotion going on while our guests seated patiently was enough to drive anyone bonkers. I was overwhelmed with people saying things to me. All I could do was nod. Bella and Edward soon arrived. Bella would be one of the bride's maids and Edward would be playing the piano for Alice. Alice and Bella exchanged hugs and we were all soon lining up to march down the aisle. Bella marched up first with one of Jasper's good friends Jacob, followed by Peter and Charlotte, and finally Emmett and Rosalie. The flower girl was Cynthia and she walked up with the ring bearer, Marcus. Soon, the familiar march sounded and Alice and I exchanged glances.

"I love you, Daddy," Alice whispered, squeezing my arm she was holding.

"I love you, too, sweetheart," I whispered back before we marched up. Everything was in slow motion now and I soon found myself reflecting on the past.

_Esme grunted and did one last push before we heard the familiar cry of a baby. I gently patted her hand and she rested, panting. One of the nurses soon placed a small baby girl in my wife's arms and I had never seen anything so adorable except for when we had Emmett. She was absolutely the smallest thing even though she was a late baby. Esme was petite, too, so we could guess where she got it from. The strangest thing was that she had small tufts of black hair, something that Emmett had had, too. I was blonde and Esme's hair was caramel colored. We had had this discussion when Emmett was first born and figured since Esme's father had black hair, she could carry some sort of gene and pass it onto her children. Esme gently stroked little Alice's face before looking up at me. She handed me the baby and I gently rocked her._

"_Hi, Alice," I said soothingly, tears forming up in my eyes. She was absolutely perfect. "I'm your daddy." She opened her grey blue eyes and looked at me slightly before closing them again. I smiled and handed our daughter back to Esme. My parents came in with a very curious Emmett._

"_I want to see her!" he said, reaching out. "I want to see Alice!"_

"_Shh," I shushed him and he nodded. For a four year old, Emmett was surely a tall one. People could easily mistake him for a six or seven year old. I picked him up—though he didn't really need it—to see his little sister. He cooed as he saw her. "She's a cutie, isn't she?"_

"_Yep," he nodded._

Jasper stared at Alice as if he had never seen such a beautiful girl before. That love that boy had for my daughter was good—he'd protect her when they were together. I looked at Alice and her eyes shared the same adoration. I had never seen her look at anyone else like that—like he was her true soul mate; the exact match for her.

We were finally at the end. I handed her off making eye contact with Jasper and telling him to take care of my little girl. After that, I was sent off to sit next to Esme. We exchanged glances, both thinking about how our little girl was getting married. The minister started off as usual and I continued reminiscing in the past.

"_Daddy, I can't," Alice said, huffing a little and folding her arms._

"_Come on, Alice," I pleaded. "Don't ever give up. Riding a bike takes practice. You almost have it. Just pedal fast."_

"_Okay," she finally sighed and got back on her pink bike. "But if I bust my head open, you're in trouble."_

"_I would _never_ let that happen to you," I said and Alice started pedaling. I ran alongside her, holding the back of her seat. When she was balanced enough, I let go and she continued. "See? You're doing it!" Alice's laugh echoed around the neighborhood as she gently pulled to a stop, dropping her bike and running towards me._

"_I love you, Daddy," she said as I swirled around._

"_As I love you, Alice," I said and set her gently down. "Now, how about you get back on that bike and we work on turning?"_

"_Yeah!" Alice said and ran back to her bike…_

They were starting their vows now. Jasper spoke first, his Southern drawl making its presence with the emotion in his words. Alice smiled widely at him. Esme placed her hand on my thigh and I took hers in mine. She was crying now and I pulled her close to me.

_I was home early from work now and I waited for Alice to come home. Emmett was already home since he was in high school while Alice was in seventh grade. Esme was talking to Emmett about how he had gotten a D on one of his tests. He was struggling because he was dyslexic. Everyone else didn't know that because he wanted to keep it a secret and thought he was not smart._

"_Mom, it's not my fault!" Emmett argued before Alice ran, crying, into the house. She slammed the door and ran up the stairs of our house._

"_Alice!" I said and ran up the stairs, knocking on her closed door._

"_Go away," her muffled voice sounded and I opened the door. Alice was lying on her bed with her pillow over her face. She took it off her and looked at me, sniffling. Her eyes were red._

"_What happened, honey?" I asked, sitting on the end of her bed._

"_Lauren and Jessica," Alice said._

"_You're friends?" I asked and rubbed her leg._

"_My _ex_-friends," she said acidly. "They spread rumors around school that I was anorexic."_

"_How awful," I said. And she nodded. "Well, they weren't the greatest friends. It's good that you're not friends with them anymore. Since I'm a doctor, do you want me to write a note for all the school kids to see that you're not anorexic?"_

"_No," Alice said. "Thanks, Daddy."_

"_Anytime, honey," I said, giving her a kiss and letting her be._

"By the power vested in me," the minister said and my stomach flipped around. There were only seconds left of having Alice as my little girl. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Jasper and Alice smiled before giving each other a kiss. Cheers erupted around us as well as a suggestive whistle from Emmett. They pulled apart, beaming, and ran down the aisle. Everyone soon followed and we went into another room for the reception party. Everyone was talking and laughing as music came on. People went to the dance floor and started dancing. Alice and Jasper were in the center, swirling around with grace. I just stared at my daughter, getting lost in the past yet again.

"_Mom, Daddy, this is Jasper," Alice said, motioning from the blonde, shy-looking boy to Esme and me. "Jasper, these are my parents."_

"_It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," Jasper said, holding his hand out and giving each of us a shake._

"_Please, call me Esme," Esme said._

"_And call me Carlisle," I added, smiling. Jasper smiled._

"_Esme, Carlisle," he nodded. Alice just beamed._

"_So, we'll be upstairs, playing video games with Emmett," Alice said and pulled Jasper up the staircase. I heard Emmett's loud voice booming down the stairs._

"_So, Alice has finally found a boy," Esme said as we started preparing dinner._

"_Yep," I said, tossing some tomatoes into the salad bowl._

"_He seems like a nice boy," Esme said and I nodded. No boy had really spiked any interest from Alice and we were very shocked when she had announced she was going to go out with Jasper Whitlock._

Who knew her first boyfriend would wind up being her husband? I went over to the food we had paid a lot of money for and sampled a few, savoring the flavor, still thinking about Alice. I felt a tap on my shoulder and I saw Alice standing behind me.

"May I have this dance, Daddy?" she asked and I nodded, setting my glass of wine down. We moved slowly to the dance floor and I swirled her around. Soon, I pulled her close and we circled around.

"I'm sure going to miss you," I said, accidentally letting a tear slip. Alice quickly wiped it away.

"Aw, Daddy, don't cry," she said, her voice breaking. "'Cause that makes me cry, too." Two tears rolled down her cheeks and I wiped them away. "I promise to always call and visit as often as I can. I love you so much, Daddy."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," I whispered back and the song was done. I moved over to my wife and started to dance with her.

"We've raised them well, haven't we?" she said, another tear escaping her. I gently kissed it away.

"Yes," I said. "They'll be fine on their own." I was reassuring myself more than my wife. She smiled and rested her head on my shoulder as the last song of the evening faded away. Soon, Alice and Jasper were getting rice thrown at them as they rushed to the limo we had ordered to take them away. I smiled and waved as they got in. I was ready to let her go on and live her life with Jasper because she was not a little girl anymore.

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**A/N: Review!**

**~Eclipse-Vamp :)  
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